While no Laker emerged from Saturday’s loss to the Hawks more banged-up than LeBron James, it didn’t mean his teammates were unscathed.
Dennis Schröder (16 points) looked shaken up in the fourth quarter after diving for a loose ball and walking slowly into a timeout afterward. But in his postgame media session, he was reluctant to show any signs that he was still aching.
“I’m going to be alright,” he said. “I’m going to give everything I have every night and we got a chance tomorrow to play again and to compete and that’s what we’re going to do.”
What lies ahead for the Lakers is a gauntlet. With the news that James will be out indefinitely with a high right ankle sprain (which typically results in multiple weeks of missed games), the Lakers (28-14) will be put in the uncomfortable position of trying to stay ahead of their pursuers in the West without their 36-year-old MVP candidate or Anthony Davis.
Davis has been out since Feb. 14 and his right calf strain is scheduled to be re-evaluated later this week. The Lakers have only played one game so far without both James and Davis, a 123-120 loss to the Sacramento Kings.
The coming schedule is moderate in the short term but much tougher the more time the Lakers’ stars miss. The next 12 opponents: at Phoenix; at New Orleans; Philadelphia; Cleveland; Orlando; Milwaukee; at Sacramento; the Clippers; at Toronto; at Miami; at Brooklyn; at New York.
The margin for error is also frightfully slim. The No. 3 Lakers have just two fewer losses that the No. 7 San Antonio Spurs (22-16). One of the biggest concerns is that No. 7 and No. 8 have to play single-elimination play-in games this year, adding hurdles to the postseason road.
That’s a lot to digest at once for the defending champions, but they insisted that injuries won’t change the expectation they have to win games going forward. Frank Vogel described the postgame mood Saturday not in terms of James’ injury, but being upset that they had fallen to the Hawks, snapping a four-game winning streak.
“The mood of the team is we’re disappointed we lost,” he said. “And we’ve gotta get back and win one tomorrow.”
The team is hoping for the swift return of starting center Marc Gasol, who has been out since March 3 due to COVID-19 protocols but is finally back with the group. He didn’t play Saturday in part out of conditioning concerns.
The Lakers face some compelling decisions in the next week in response to the injuries. Damian Jones, who started against Atlanta, was set to see his second 10-day contract expire leaving two roster spots open. While the Lakers’ limited space under the cap leaves them almost no available flexibility to swing a big trade, they are widely expected to be players on the buyout market. Many reports have linked the Lakers’ interest to bolstering the center position, but it’s unclear if James getting hurt will shift any priorities.
The trade deadline arrives on March 25, and buyouts could pick up in the immediate aftermath if players such as LaMarcus Aldridge or Andre Drummond are not traded.
But Vogel also outlined confidence that the Lakers have enough already to win games. In holding Atlanta under 100 and scoring 120 against Sacramento without James and Davis — if the team can somehow marry those respective defensive and offensive efforts, they can remain competitive.
“We’ve proven that we can do those types of things,” Montrezl Harrell said. “I just feel like when guys see that we’re in that position again, it’s going to come. It’s another task where it’s one of those step-up moments.”
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